Another Chance
by Zeref the Dark Mage
Summary: After Naruto's early death, courteously of Sasuke, eventually he and the rest of the Naruto characters are reborn in the modern world. Not everyone remembers their bloody past, but Naruto and some others do. (Psuedo-Sequal to my other story, 'So this is how it Ends'. You don't need to read that one to understand this one.)
1. Remembering the past is never Good

Year: 2002

Age: 5

Naruto Uzumaki shot up from his bed. The young blonde wildly looked around his room with fear. His mind was filled with the vivid images from his dream. Though something told him that what he saw while he was asleep, was very much real. Like they were visions of the past or something...

Naruto shook his head and banished the thought. "That sounds as crazy as the ninja story that Hashi-jiji was telling me before bed." But what he saw was so real and it terrified Naruto. So much so, that it eventually caused the five-year-old to scamper out of his room and into his parents' room. He carefully crept through their room, right up to his father's side of the bed. He was sleeping soundly on his stomach with his arm hanging from the side of the bed. Naruto gently grabbed his father's limp arm and gave it a tug. The blonde man simply groaned in response. Naruto gave it a more forcefully tug. His father gave another groan while he cracked an eye open.

"Naruto?" He rasped. Naruto's dad fully awoke when he saw his son's distressed face. "What's wrong Naru-chan?" Naruto didn't give any response. His dad sighed and sat up. "Are you scared of something?" Naruto nodded while shifting with discomfort. "Do you want to sleep with me and kaa-chan?"

"Yeah."

His father ruffled his hair. "Alright buddy." He turned around and shook his mother's shoulder. "Kushina!"

The red headed woman shot up and looked around. "What is it Minato?" Her violet eyes landed on Naruto fidgetting at Minato's side of the bed. "Naru-chan? What's the matter sweetheart?"

"The only thing I got from him is that he's scared and wants to sleep here tonight." Minato softly said to his wife.

Kushina exchanged a look with her husband before looking back at Naruto. "Sweety, we can't help you if you don't tell is what's wrong."

"I had a bad dream and it scared me." Naruto whispered.

"Can you tell us what happened in your dream that made you so scared?" Minato asked before lifting up his son and setting him on his lap. He frowned in worry as a light tremble shook his son's body.

"I had a dream where me and Sasuke were ninja and we were fighting. And Sasuke.." Naruto paused before giving his father a sad look. "He said he hated me and was trying to kill me. And the me in my dream felt so sad and it hurt right here." Naruto pointed to his heart before burying his face into his dad's chest. Minato and Kushina exchanged concerned looks.

* * *

Year: 2008

Age: 11

Naruto fidgetted nervously. "You promise jiji?"

Next to him, his great-grandfather gave him a reassuring smile. "Of course I do, Naruto-kun. I'm you awesome great-grandpa, you can always trust me."

"Kaa-chan, tou-chan, baa-chan, and ero-jiji said the same thing but..." Naruto sadly trailed off.

Hashirama sighed and shook his head. "I'm very sorry you feel that way about your parents and grandparents. But despite how poorly they are reacting to this, they really do love you and want what's best for you."

"I know that but when kaa-chan made me see a therapist, it made me feel I'm crazy and there's something wrong with me!"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Naruto!" Hashirama forcefully said. "I think that you're just like you, Uncle Tobirama, and me. When we were your age, we too had dreams like yours. They were so real that we refused to believe that they were otherwise. They had to be something else."

"What did you think they were?" Naruto's asked with a cautious tone.

"After a lot of research, we concluded that they were visions of the past. Tobi thinks we were reincarnated but I think," Hashirama paused, causing Naruto to lean forward with interest. "I think we were all given another chance at life. We all lived such chaotic and restless lives, and maybe we can finally have a chance at a more peaceful one."

Naruto frowned. "You're not messing with me right?"

Hashirama gave him a stren look. "I would never joke around about something like this. I truly believe that this is true. If you get any more visions, you'll believe the same."

Naruto nodded for he looked at his hands in his lap before giving Hashirama a desperate look. "If you're right, then what am I supposed to do? The dreams scare me a lot. And telling kaa-chan and tou-chan doesn't help. They make me feel like there's something wrong with me."

Hashirama sadly sighed. "I know Naruto. I'll have Tobi talk to your parents about that. I'm sure he can convince them to calm down."

"Thanks. But how do you and Tobirama-oji deal with this?"

"We had each other. Tobi thought what's currently happening to you would happen to us, so we kept it to ourselves."

Naruto tilted his head in puzzlement. "Did you ever tell Mito-obaachan? You told me you told her everything."

"I actually did tell her." Hashirama smiled wistully. "And then I had to have Tobirama confirm everything. I don't know how I married such a serious woman."

"But you could really trust her."

"Yeah, your great-grandma knew we were telling the truth when Tobi confirmed everything. She, of course, kept our secret and helped us with our rougher past memories."

"How am I supposed to find someone like that? No one wants to be near me because Sasuke had to tell everyone that I was seeing a therapist."

"Hmmm. Why would Sasuke do something like that? I thought you two were friends."

"We were until some of the worse...visions happened. One of them showed him..." Naruto trailed of with a haunted expression.

Hashirama nodded in understanding. _'I guess Madara and I aren't the only ones with a rough history.' "_ I understand Naruto-kun." Naruto curiously looked at Hashirama."In the past, Madara and I were forced to be enemies as well. He gave me some horrible memories for me to remember from that past. When we were growing up and I was remembering, I had a harsh time being around him. Madara being Madara, he quickly became offended. Which made things much worse. It took forever for us to mend our friendship. If you value your friendship with Sasuke, you should fix things before it's too late."

"But what about the visions?"

"Spend more time with him. The more good memories you make with him, the easier the past ones are to forget."

Naruto let the words sink in. _'Maybe Sasuke and I can be real friends this time.'_ He roughly pushed away the horrible memories of him and Sasuke's fight.

Hashirama watched a myraid of emotions cross his great-grandson's face. "Naruto, I think it's time I show you something that will really help you."

Naruto gave him a questioning look. "What is is?"

"Meditation."

...

"I can't believe you have a dog and a _fox."_ Sasuke said as Naruto's pets licked his face. He shooed them off of him so his black cat could sit on his lap.

Naruto stuck out his toungue. "I told you so. But you're the one with the stupid cat. What kid our age has a pet cat?"

"Chidori's different." Sasuke huffed while gently running his fingers through the feline's fur.

"Whatever." He muttered before he took note of Sasukes older brother. "Itachi!" The sixteen-year-old noticed and gave a small smile. He walked up to him and poked him in the forehead, like he did to Sasuke.

"Hello Naruto-kun. It's been a while since I've last seen you."

"I didn't want to come over since Sasuke was being such a jerk to me." Naruto quickly responded.

Itachi gave a soft smirk. "Oh really now? Sasuke how could you do something like that to Naruto-kun?" Sasuke looked away in embarrasment, not seeing the quick wink Itachi gave Naruto.

"I-I-It was just me being stupid." Ignoring Naruto muttering, "So you admit."

"Don't worry about it, otouto. Friends get into fights. My two artist friends get into fights about art all the time."

Naruto instamtly narrowed his eyes before masking it with confusion. Itachi frowned when he saw this. "Artist friends?" Naruto questioned.

Itachi blinked. "Yes. Diedara likes to make clay sculptures and Sasori makes wooden puppets."

"That's cool. Do you have any other cool friends?"

"Well there is: Konan who does origami art and paints, Zetsu does body paint and gardens, Hidan is just super religous and swears a lot, Kakuzo is a mathmatician and sows for his family's business, and you know how your cousins Yahiko and Nagato are."

"Cousin Yahiko is _so_ cool and Nagato is super smart."

"Hey Naruto-kun, would you like to see some of my friends' art that's in my room. I heard Aunt Kushina talk about your drawings."

"Sure. Can I let Kurama and Kyuubi off their leashes?"

"It should be alright, the yard is closed in." Itachi stared curiously at Naruto fox and dog. "Which is which?"

"The fox is Kyuubi and the Shiba Inu is Kurama."

"Kyuubi, huh." Itachi had a critical look in his eyes.

Naruto arched his eyebrow. "Like the nine-tailed fox."

Sasuke frowned in confusion as he looked between his brother and Naruto. "What are you guys talking about."

Itachi shook his head and smiled before poking Sasuke in the forehead. "Don't worry otouto. Just stay here and keep an eye on all of these animals."

"Alright, nii-san."

...

"From what I have gathered," Itachi had a serious look on his face. "You remember our past?"

"So does Hashirama-jij and Tonirama-oji."

"I can assume telling your parents and grandparents didn't work out well?"

"Not really. I think I'll harder to act as normal as possible so they'll stop worrying about me." Naruto murmured.

Itachi lightly smiled. "You're just the same as before, always worrying about others."

A sheepish smile appeared on Naruto's face. "I can't help it, I have a family for once. I want to protect them."

"I understand. The rest of the former Akatsuki members feel the same way. It's nice having a peaceful life for once." Naruto's eyebrows rose at the information the former Akatsuki remembered the past.

"Ya know Hashirama-jiji told me something similar. But how can you guys deal with all those memories? They terrify me sometimes. I can't sleep some nights."

"The past is in the past. It's no use dwelling over it." Itachi simply said. "Though I suppose being with Sasuke is hard for you?"

"I guess. I can't help it though. He...he...he.."

"I understand Naruto-kun. Will you allow me to help you? You and Sasuke deserve a better chance at friendship. No matter how much you deny it, I was part of your problems with Sasuke. I shouldn't have lied and manipulated him like that." Naruto was shocked by Itachi's plea. "Please allow me to help fix this. It saddens me that my past mistakes have bled into this life."

Naruto hesitated before responding with, "Alright Itachi." A silence settle between them before Naruto asked. "Do you actually have your friends' last in your room somewhere? I actually really wanted to see it."

Itachi chuckled. "Yes I do."

* * *

 **(A/N: I know I should update my other stories, but this idea has been bothering me for a while. I'll update my other stories as soon as I can. I promise I will finish them... eventually. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this new story and please leave a review. Have a nice day.)**


	2. Making Progress, Maybe

Year: 2013

Age: 16

Naruto curiously watched his older cousin Yahiko study the paper he had handed him. The orange haired man's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he studied the paper's image.

A few momemts later, Yahiko slid the paper back to him. "It's different from the other two. If you decide to do it, it will take a few hours to do. The stomach _is_ a sensitive area to get a tatoo on." His cousin shook his head. "Minato-oji will _kill_ me if he found out I gave you two tatoos without his knowledge or permission."

Naruto smirked. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about if baa-chan or kaa-chan found?"

Yahiko shook his head. "And here I thought I was going to give you another tatoo. Guess you'll have to wait until you're eighteen." He laughed at Naruto's shocked expression.

"I do, I was just saying." The blonde quickly retorted.

Yahiko smile amd held up his hands. "Don't worry kid. I'll do it. Is this another... symbolic one."

"Yeah." Naruto leaned forward on the mahogany counter. "It's the design of the seal that sealed Kurama into me."

"Then why would you want it back on your body? Didn't that bijuu cause you a large amount of pain and suffering?" From Yahiko's memory, jinchurriki were treated poorly, and hated their bijuu as a result.

Naruto hummed. "I know what you're thinking but it became different between me and Kurama. Before I was... killed, Kurama and I were partners, friends." Naruto's blue eyes darkened with sadness and his voice thickened. "I really miss my friend, actually all my friends."

Yahiko looked away from his younger cousin's saddened face. The rejection of Naruto's past friends really broke the teen's heart. Outside of his friendship with the busy former Akatsuki members and the very popular Sasuke, he had no friends. And it really messed the poor kid up.

"I'm sorry, Naru." He quickly muttered.

Naruto gave a sad smile. "It's alright. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

The orange haired man sighed. "If you insist." He looked back to Naruto's tatoo design. "When did you want this one done?"

"When's the best time for you?"

A wicked smile appeared on Yahiko's face. "How about now?" Naruto mirrored his cousin's face.

...

Naruto glared at Sasuke, who wore a smug look. The blonde lightly rubbed his sore abdomen. "You asshole! Why did you have to do that?"

Sasuke merely shrugged. "It's what you get for getting a tatoo there." The raven haired teen gave him an odd look. "What _is_ with you and tatoos?"

Naruto smile became more wistfull. "They mean something to me. I guess they're a permanent reminder of some important things."

Sasuke frowned in a questioning way. "Like what?" He studied the blonde as he rumaged through his locker.

Naruto hesitated before giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Just a few things from the past."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his response. Naruto was about to panic but pink and blonde caught his eye. _'Oh thank you, Kami-sama!'_ Sakura and Ino came scurrying up to Sasuke. Whilst they did unknowingly save him from Sasuke's interrigation, it did not stop the forlorn feeling from flooding him. "I better go Sasuke." He turned to leave but was stopped. "What?"

Sasuke swallowed. "We're not done talking. I'll see you at lunch."

Naruto intenally groaned. "Fine. Talk to you at lunch."

Sasuke pursed his lips in worry. _'Naruto, you have no idea how much I worry for you.'_

 _"_ Sasuke-kun," The raven haired teen looked at Ino. "Why do you care so much about him? He sees my dad, who's a psychiatrist, every week. He must be crazy."

" _And?"_ Sasuke hissed with a glare. Sakura and Ino took a step back. "We've known each other since we were born, and friends just as long. So what if he is 'crazy'? He's my best friend and I care him. We may have had a few bumps in the road but he will always be my best friend." He turned away from the two. "And don't talk about him like that again, or _our friendship_ is over."

...

Naruto groaned as he collapsed into a plush chair next to Itachi. The older male simply arched his eyebrow. "Your brother is worried about me. My most recent piece of body art has raised some questions."

"I told you not to get any more."

"I _know_ but I really wanted to do this one. It's the same design as the seal that held back Kurama."

"That is an important one for you." Itachi simply said.

Naruto blinked at the reaction the elder Uchiha. "I was expecting a different reaction."

"You know, I have the Uchiha fan on the back of my left shoulder, the kanji from my Akatsuki ring on my inner right wrist, and my mangekyo sharingan over my heart.""

"Really?"

"Really." Itachi gave a wry smile. "I completely understand your reasoning on that one."

"What do you think I should tell Sasuke?"

Itachi hummed in thought. "You _are_ an artist. Just say you wanted to have your personal art on a different canvas."

Naruto slowly nodded in agreement. "My body. I'm sure Sasuke would believe that since he was around Sasori and Diedara a lot."

"On a different subject," Naruto shot Itachi a curious glance. "How are anxiety problems going?"

"I'm doing better. My appointments with Mr. Yamanaka are helping. Hashirama-jiji and Tobirama-oji are helping me relax with tai chi and meditation."

"That's good. I'm happy you're getting better. How's you boxing and mixed martial arts?"

"I got first place in some local compititions. Are you still doing your karate in college?"

"Of course. I love destroying anyone who thinks they can beat me."

Naruto snorted. "For a pacifist, you sure are evil."

"And for someone who hates hurting people, you sure do love a good fight."

" _Touché."_ The pair began laughing before getting interrupted by a sharp jingle. Kakuzo gave them both odd looks as he walked into his family's shop.

 _"_ What are you two doing here?"

"I don't know what this weirdo's here for but I'm picking up a gift for kaa-chan." Naruto said. Kakuzo walked behind the cream-colored counter.

"What did you order?"

"A new blanket. Kyuubi stole my parents' old one." Itachi lightly snorted.

"What did you have stiched on it this time?" Kakuzo asked with a smirk.

"Nothing crazy. I got an orange comforter with a red Uzumaki swirl on the center."

"I guess it _is_ an apology gift." Kakuzo murmured.

Naruto smile twisted into a wicked grin. "Of course it _is_ irriverable."

"Oh Kami, what's on the back?"

"Just a raging nine-tailed fox."

"Aunt Kushina is going to kill you." Itachi chimed in.

"It'll be worth it, just like the taod sweater for ero-jij and slug sweater for baa-chan."

"If you insist kid, if you insist." Kakuzo muttered as he handed him the large box. "I'll be sure to keep a date open so I can attend your funeral."

...

Naruto nervously followed Sasuke to the spot where his friends usually ate their lunch. Sasuke had pressured him into eating with him, making sure he didn't get alone like he usually did when Sasuke ate lunch with his friends. _'Stupid teme. Always making do things that stress me out.'_ When they reached the pushed together tables, Sasuke's friends all stopped talking and stared at him. Naruto felt like a deer caught in headlights. Never had he felt so scared. A sharp contrast to his bold, ninja past self.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Kiba asked loudly. _'I guess he's brash as before.' "_ Isn't he that cra-" Naruto's eyes widened in hurt. Was he seriously going to call him that? He turned to Sasuke and saw him glaring at the brunet.

"Maybe it's best if I go." He softly said to him. "I understand what you wanted, but this wasn't the of ideas." Sasuke firmly grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, please do this. I swear they're not like this normally. Just... give this another shot."

Naruto pursed his lips at the pleading expression on his best friend's face. ' _You always were my weakness, Sasuke.'_ He sighed as he leaned close to Sasuke, next to his ear. "If they say _that..._ "

"You can go and I swear I'll make sure they apologize."

"Then fine."

Sasuke gave him a surprisingly happy smile. The Uchiha reserved those smiles for only him and in a private place. "Thanks Naruto. I really just don't want you to be alone anymore." Sasuke let his face go back to a neutral expression. He back to his friends. "Guys this is my best friend Naruto."

With all the curious and scrutinizing gazes on him, Naruto instantly felt even more anxious. ' _How the hell am I supposed to do this?'_ His past friends most likely thought the worst of him, courtiously of the lovely rumers that there were about him. Though technically, it was Sasuke's fault for telling everyone he saw a therapist when they were 11. It didn't help that Ino's father was his therapist, and Ino herself was the gossip queen. But the past was in the past and he tried not to dwell on those things.

After a few moments, Naruto offered a weak smile and gave an awkward, "Hello everyone."

"Let's just sit down." Sasuke muttered when only Lee, Hinata, and Chouji gave Naruto semi-greeting. The two sat next to each other in between Neji and Shikamaru.

"How _do_ you know each other? You mentioned being friends but I didn't think you guys were that close." Neji asked from the left of Sasuke. The long haired brunette was still looking over Naruto with a critical look in his pale pupilless eyes, which he somehow had.

"Our families are friends, so we've known each other since forever." Naruto answered with a fond smile. The memories of their early play dates resurfaced in his mind.

"Oh, so you expected to be friends. That explains some things." Neji stated. The smile on Naruto's face slowly slid off his face and was replaced with a look of hurt.

"No, we weren't expected to be friends. We always have gotten along." Naruto softly said as he opened his lunch. He had forgotten how mean Neji used to be.

"Trust me Neji, we become friends on our own free will. It's just like Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru." Sasuke added, giving the Hyuuga a warning look.

"If you insist," He shrugged.

"An uncomfortable silence settled over the table until Lee bluted out, "So Naruto-kun, what kind of things do you do in your spare time?" Sasuke sent Lee a look of thanks.

Naruto looked startled before he responded with, "Oh, I do a lot of things like drawing and boxing."

Lee perked up in interest. "You box? Do you do any other martial arts? What about weapons training?"

Sasuke watched his friend slowly relax a bit. "Yeah, I box. I'm also a sixth degree blackbelt. I do also do weapons training. Asuma-sensei at the Konoha City Dojo teaches me how to trench knives."

"Konoha City Dojo, huh?" Tenten asked with interest. "What days are you there? Maybe we could spar sometime?"

Naruto blinked surprised before quickly saying, "Yeah, sure. That would be great. What do you train in?"

"Various different weapons but I most speacialize in the kunai and tonfas."

A fond smile appeared on the blonde's face. "I'm deffinately looked forward to our fight. How about this Friday at five."

Tenten smirked. "Alright but don't cry when you lose."

Naruto gently snorted. "I could say the same for you."

Sasuke looked at Naruto in shock. He'd forgotten how competative his blonde friend was. _'Maybe now he won't be so alone.'_

...

Naruto happily inhaled the ramen his father had made. Minato shook his head in exasperation. The teen gave his dad an apologetic look. "Sorry dad but your ramen is just so good."

"It's why I married him." Kushina joked. Her ramen bowl polished clean.

"Anyway," Minato laughed. "How was school today?"

"It was fine. I had lunch with Sasuke and all of his friends." The older blonde's eyebrows rose. Kushina kickes his leg from underneath the table. She gave him a look that urged him to keep their son talking. Outside of Tobirama, Hashirama, and Mito, Naruto was only close with Minato.

"Really? That's good. What caused this?"

Naruto briefly hesitated. "Sasuke insisted I sit with him. His friends were kind of mean to me, but Lee and Tenten warmed up to me."

"That's good." Kushina commented.

"Yeah. Tenten wants to fight me at the dojo Friday."

Minato nodded before giving his son an encouraging smile. "Well it's good your making friends your own age." Naruto frowned. For some reason, his parents were weary of his friendship with the Akatsuki. "It makes me feel relieved. You know it hurts seeing you so miserable all the time."

Naruto anxiously bit his lip. "I understand dad. I'm sorry for worrying you."

His father's eyes softened. "It's my job to worry about you and your mother's."

Naruto ducked his head a bit, hiding his tearing eyes. "Well, thanks anyway. I really love you guys."

* * *

 **(A/N: I'm super sorry I haven't updated this or any of my stories for a while. I've had some personal problems and a busy schedule. Anyway, I'm super sorry for taking so long. My other stories will be updated after I type them up.)**


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